OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso —Burkina Faso has approved and recognised more than 18 traditional medicines for use in the country as authorities move to strengthen regulation of a sector relied on by more than 80 percent of the population. Mariam Bagagnan, Director of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, said the approvals were part of efforts to improve the regulation and safety of traditional healthcare products. “To date, more than 18 traditional medicines have been approved

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has launched a new Regional Health Data Hub aimed at improving health planning and decision-making across the continent. The digital platform, launched on August 27, 2026, brings together health information from different systems and transforms it into integrated, actionable data for governments and health stakeholders across the WHO African Region. The initiative is expected to help countr

NAIROBI, Kenya — Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH,N) has achieved a major milestone in surgical care after successfully performing the region’s first robotic-assisted gallbladder removal procedure. The operation, medically known as robotic-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy, combines the expertise of surgeons with advanced robotic technology to enhance precision, visibility and control during minimally invasive surgery. Dr Abdulkarim Abdalla, Chair of AKUH,N’s D

ADDIS ABABA — Health ministers from 47 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region are gathered in Addis Ababa for the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, where they are expected to deliberate on key health policies and priorities for the continent. The three-day meeting, which opened today, brings together health ministers, senior government officials, development partners and technical experts to assess progress in improving health sy

HARARE — Senegalese-born scientist Sidy Ndao is pushing the boundaries of computing after developing a technology that could allow machines to process information using heat rather than electricity, opening new possibilities for computing in some of the harshest environments known to science. Ndao, a mechanical and materials engineering researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and his research team developed a nano-thermal-mechanical device known as a thermal d

LUANDA, Angola — Angola has opened a US$155 million specialised burn hospital in Luanda named after Tanzanian founding President and Pan-Africanist icon Julius Nyerere, strengthening the country’s capacity to treat severe burns and complex injuries. The President Julius Kambarage Nyerere Burn Hospital, inaugurated on August 1 by Angolan President João Lourenço and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has 252 beds, including about 66 intensive-care beds and nine dedicated